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David Archuleta, the “American Idol” alum, found himself in controversy after inadvertently seeming to oppose same-sex marriage in a tweet over the weekend. On Monday, Archuleta apologized for any or unintended offense. Here’s what happened.
On Saturday, in the midst of renewed national debate over gay rights and religious freedom, Archuleta tweeted, “Romantic love is incomplete. It is a prelude. Love is nourished by the coming of children, who spring from the fountain of love… expressed between a man and a woman in marriage. #PresPacker.” The singer was quoting from longer remarks made on Saturday by Boyd K. Packer, the President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and a Mormon leader.
But when Archuleta tweeted those words, many people understandably latched onto the “between a man and a woman” phrase as evidence of the singer’s opposition to same-sex marriage and child-raising. On Monday, after growing backlash, Archuleta clarified what he had meant:
I apologize if I have offended anyone with the quote I sent out Saturday. I guess I didn’t think about the line “expressed between a man and a woman in marriage” being stressed when the whole quote didn’t fit in just 1 tweet. I am sorry my intentions were misunderstood, as my main focus was that too often romance is looked at as the end-all when there is so much more. The bonds that can be there within a family and raising kids, as that is the most valuable thing I have: my family.
I do hope however, that whoever may have been offended may know I respect everyone’s freedom to believe and live as they choose. I hope others can respect what I value most in my life as well. Again, I’m sorry and please forgive me if I offended you.
In other words, Archuleta appears to value both religious expression and same-sex relationships. The controversy seems to be quelled. What do you think about Archuleta’s explanation for his tweet?
